Lamp holder



1962 w. E. WILSON ETAL 3,068,909

LAMP HOLDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 17, 1958 FIG.|.

INVENTORJ WILL/HM E. w/zsazvx LAMP HOLDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2.

60 I3 42 44 30 68 78 \\\&(/ f H/ Dec. 18, 1962 w. E. WILSON ETAL Filed Nov. 17, 1958 fay/.5 4. B 1 l FIG. 3.

Dec. 18, 1962 w. E. wlLsofll ETAL LAMP HOLDER Filed Nov. 17. 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 5

INVENTORS' W/LZ/HM fl. ML-Sd/Vd 100/5 4. xv/cazmea United States Patent ()flice sylvania Filed Nov. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 774,37

5 Claims. (Cl. 140--71.6)

The present invention relates to exhaust machines for electric discharge devices, such as fluorescent lamps and the like, and more particularly, to an improved lampholder for such machines.

Heretofore, fluorescent lamps have been exhausted while in the vertical position on an automatic machine of the type shown in U.S. Patent No. 2,247,513, issued July 1, 1945 to A. J. Marshaus. Each head of this exhaust machine has a compression rubber assembly into which the exhaust tubulation is received and a downwardly extending lamp holder, which comprises several pairs of jaws disposed along the tubular envelope of the lamp. Each pair of jaws comprises a stationary jaw and a pivoted movable jaw operable, either manually or automatically, to swing awayfrom the stationary jaw to permit loading and unloading of a lamp andmovable toward the stationary jaw to grip the lamp. The peripheral spacing of the heads on the indexable turret of the exhaust machine is limited by the space required to mount the operating means for the movable jaws of the lamp holders and the space required by the movable jaws of the lamp holders to swing to the open position. In order to minimize the diameter of the turret of the exhaust machine, such peripheral spacing should be as small as possible. In addition, a large diameter turret requires longer and less efficient sweeps, thus resulting in a lower pumping speed in the exhaust system.

During the exhaust of a fluorescent lamp on this type of exhaust machine, the electrodes are energized at certain stages thereof to treat such electrodes. The voltage for energizing the electrodes is applied directly to the lead wires, which are easily deformed and difficult to orient. Heretofore, in order to apply the necessary voltage to the electrodes, the lead wires were oriented in a generally horizontal plane and allowed to wipe against metal contact plates located along the path of movement of the oriented lead wires. Due to the resilient nature of the lead wires intermittent and unregulated contact often occurred, thereby resultingin inadequate treatment of the electrodes during the treating process.

As a final step in the exhaust of the fluorescent lamp while on such an exhaust machine, the lamp is tipped-oif by tipping-off means of the type shown in the abovementioned U.S. Patent No. 2,247,513. This conventional tippingoff means comprises a guide for locating the tipping-off means with respect to the exhaust tubulation as well as tip-off burners and a bifurcated heat baffle which is positioned about the exhaust tubulation for the purpose of protecting the end-seal portions of the lamp during the tipping-off operation. If the longitudinal axis of the exhaust tubulation does not coincide with the longitudinal axis of the lamp, the guide or the heat battle occasionally will engage and break the exhaust tubulation during the positioning of the tipping-ofi means.

It is the general object of the present invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other difficulties of and objections to prior art practices by the provision of an improved lamp holder for tubular-lamp exhaust machines, which lamp holder resiliently supports the lamp, provides a positive contact with the lead wires of the lamp for the electrode-treating operation and shields the end-seal and stem portions of the lamp during the tipping-off operation.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved lamp-holder which is substantially no wider than the diameter of a fluorescent lamp thus permitting closer spacing of the exhaust heads on the periphery of the turret of the exhaust machine and the use of shorter more eflicient sweeps with resultant improved pumping speed.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved lamp holder which eliminates the heat baffie on the tipping-oil means.

Yet another object of the present invention is an improved lamp holder which eliminates the necessity of precise orientation of the lead wires exactly opposite to each other and in a generally horizontal plane and permits their approximate'orientation prior to exhaust with respect to such position.

The aforesaid objects of the present invention and other objects which will become apparent as the description proceeds are achieved by providing a lamp holder contoured to fit into the reentrant end-seal portions of a tubular lamp and support the latter with the lead. wires of the lamp secured between the end-seal portion and such contoured lamp holder thus providing positive electrical contact with such lead Wires, the lamp holder being further operable to thermally insulate the endseal portion.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical-sectional view at one exhaust station of a vertical-type exhaust machine for fluorescent lamps, taken radially through the turret and frame of such machine and incorporating the lamp, holder of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal-sectional view taken along the line Il-II of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows and showing the details of the upper portion of the lamp holder;

FIG. 3 is a vertical-sectional view along the line III- III of FIG. 2 and showing a side. view of the details of the lamp holder of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged fragmentary vertical-sectional view taken along the line IVIV of FIG. 1 and showing the upper end of the lamp and the upper portion of the lamp holder, as viewed from the left-hand portion of FIG. 3, and indicating the normal disposition of the lamp holder from the exhaust head during exhaust;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating the movement of the lamp and the lamp holder during the tippingoff operation at the end of the lamp exhaust, which movement causes severance of the tipped-oft lamp from the residual portion of the exhaust tubulation still held in the exhaust head;

FIG. 6 is a perspective View of the lamp holder of the present invention, broken away along its center portions because of its length;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows and showing a portion of the cam track disposed adjacent the final exhaust, tipping-oil, unloading, and loading stations and means for pulling down the lamp holder to complete the tipping-off operation on the lamp.

Although the principles of the present invention are broadly applicable to a holder for supporting a tubular work piece having reentrant end portions during the performance of a workoperation thereon, the holder of the present invention is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with a vertical-type exhaust machine for fluorescent lamps and hence it has been so illustrated and will be so described.

With specific reference to the form of the present in Patented Dec. 18, 1962' 07; 3 vention illustrated in the drawings, and referring particularly to FIG. 1, a turret of a vertical exhaust machine of the type shown in the above-mentioned US. Patent No. 2,247,513 is indicated generally by the reference numeral 1t This turret 10 is adapted to support a plurality of exhaust heads 12 and lamp holders 13 of the present invention, only one of each being shown in FIG. 1, and to index the same about a frame 15 of the exhaust machine through a number of exhaust stations. In the usual manner (as shown in US. Patent No. 2,812,228, issued November 5, 1957, to J. F. Gilmore et al.) such exhaust head 12 comprises a compression rubber assembly 14- which supports a mercury doser 16 and is connected by suitable piping through a pinch-clamp mechanism 18, a trap 20 and a rotary valve 22 of the exhaust machine to the pumping system (not shown) of such exhaust machine.

The lamp holder 13 (FIGS. 1-6) of the present invention is operable to engage reentrant type end-seal portions 24 of a fluorescent lamp 26 thereby supporting such lamp 26 during the exhaust operation, to align the lamp with the exhaust head 12 for the exhaust operation and to secure lead wires 28 of the lamp between the end-seal portions 24 and such lamp holder 13 while in the lampsupporting position, thereby providing positive electrical contact with such lead wires 28. In addition, the lamp holder also thermally insulates the reentrant type end-seal portions 24 during the tipping-ofi operation and is itself electrically insulated from the frame 15 and turret 10 of the exhaust machine.

To provide guide and alignment means for vertical reciprocating movement of the lamp holder 13 during the tipping-01f operation, as hereinafter explained in detail,

first a pair of vertically disposed guide rods 30 and 32 (FIGS. 1-3) are affixed to an upper mounting plate 34 (on which the exhaust head 12 is mounted) and a lower mounting plate 36 (both plates 34 and 36 being mounted on the turret 10) and secondly an upper slide 38 and a lower slide 40 of the lamp holder 13 are slidably mounted on such guide rods 30 and 32. It will be understood from a consideration of FIG. 2 that the guide rod 30 functions as the main guide for the slides 38 and 40 and that the guide rod 32 aligns such lamp holder in a vertical plane extending from the center of the turret 10 to such lamp holder 13 during the reciprocating movement of the lamp holder 13. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the slides 33 and 40 are integrated by a mount rod 42, the upper end of which, as viewed in such figures, carries a mounting plate 4-4 for supporting an upper chuck 46 of the lamp holder 13.

To further support the mounting plate 44 and connect the latter with the lower slide 40, a guide rod 43 extends therebetween with such guide rod 48 also serving as a means on which to slidably mount a lower chuck 51 of the lamp holder 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, this lower chuck 54} is mounted on a sleeve 52 normally biased by means of a spring 54 into engagement with an adjustable upper stop 56 on such guide rod 48 when the lamp holder 13 is empty. In order to provide means for manually moving the lower chuck 56 from the solid-line (or lamp-supporting) position shown in FIG. 3, to the dotted-line (or loading and unloading) position shown therein, a handle 58 is adjustabl mounted on the sleeve 52 and extends laterally to the left, as viewed in FIG. 2, to provide easy access thereto by the operator. To prevent lateral movement of the lamp holder 13 during its reciprocation, a guide block .59 slidable on the mount rod 42, is afiixed to the sleeve 52. The downward movement of the lower chuck to the above-mentioned loading and unloading position is limited by a lower adjustable stop 61 on the mount rod 42.

Since the details of the upper chuck 46 and the lower chuck 56 of the lamp holder 13 are essentially the same,

it is deemed sufiicient to describe the structure and operation of the upper chuck 46. Such upper chuck 46 comprises an electrically insulated block 66 secured to the mounting plate 44 and on which are mounted lamp-supporting members 62 provided with spherically-segmented lamp-engaging portions 64 spaced apart to fit about a tubulation 66 of the lamp 26 and contoured to rest on and against the adjacent upper reentrant end-seal portion 24 of the lamp 26. To provide a suitable source of voltage to each of the lamp-supporting members 62 they are individually connected to a contact finger 68 provided with resilient spring clips 70 and 72 which engage and ride against an upper contact track 74 and a lower contact track 76 respectively. These contact tracks 74 and 76 are mounted on insulating brackets 78 disposed on rods 80 along the periphery of the frame 15 adjacent the electrode-treating stations of the exhaust machine and such tracks 74 and 76 are connected by suitable conductors to a conventional cathode-treating circuit (not shown) comprising in the usual manner an AC. voltage supply and a ballasting resistance. It will of course be understood that since the contact tracks 74 and 76 do not extend adjacent the loading station (not shown) and unloading station (not shown), such tracks do not interfere with the reciprocation of the lower chuck 50 during the loading and unloading operation.

As shown in FIG. 3, the insulating block 60 of the lower chuck 50 is secured to the sleeve 52 and the associated lamp-supporting members 62 and contact fingers 68 are insulated by means of a washer 82 from the guide rod 48. In addition, both insulating blocks 60 are provided with a V-block 84 formed in the face adjacent the lamp-supporting members 62, which V-blocks receive the lamp 26 and align the longitudinal axis of the lamp 26 (when the lamp holder 13 is in the lamp-supporting position of FIG. 1) with the longitudinal axis of the exhaust head 12.

Even though it is believed that the operation of the lamp holder of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description, a brief review of the op eration thereof will now be made for purposes of summary and simplification.

Operation Preparatory to the loading of the lamp 26 into the exhaust head 12 and the lamp holder 13 of the present invention, the operator (standing adjacent the loading station, not shown, of the exhaust machine) drapes the lead wires 28 over the side of the end-seal portions 24 of the lamp 26 and orients them approximately opposite to each other. Then grasping the lamp 26 in the tubulation up position in one hand, the operator pushes downwardly, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3, on the handle 58 (against the action of the spring 54) to lower the lower chuck 50 to the dotted-line position, shown in FIG. 3. Whereupon the operator inserts the tubulation 66 of the lamp 26 between the lamp-supporting members 62 of the upper chuck 46 and positions the side portions of such lamp 26 against the V-block 84 to align the longitudinal axis of the lamp with the longitudinal axis of the compression rubber assembly 14 which has been opened at the prior unloading station (not shown). Thereafter the operator inserts the tubulation 66 into the now-open compression rubber assembly 14 of the exhaust head 12 with attendant engagement of the upper reentrant end-seal portion 24 of the lamp (FIGS. 1 and 3) with the upper lamp-supporting members 62 of the upper chuck 46 and resultant securement of the lead wires 28 between the end-seal portion 24 and the lampsupporting members 62, as can be more clearly seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. After rotating handle 86 on such compression rubber assembly 14 to secure the tubulation 66 in the compression rubber assembly 14, the operator slowly releases the handle 58 to permit the lower chuck 50 to rise to the solid-line position, shown in FIGS. 1

and 3, so that the lower lamp-supporting members 62 on the lower chuck 50 engage the adjacent lower end-seal portion 24 with the lead wires therebetween, thereby supporting the lamp 26 in the lamp holder 13.

Thereafter, the lamp 26 is indexed from the loading station (not shown) and through the usual exhaust stations where the lamp is baked, dosed with mercury, flushed and evacuated and the electrodes are treated. At the electrode treating stations (not shown) AC. voltage is supplied through the contact tracks 74 and 76, the clips 70 and 72, contact fingers 68, the lamp-supporting members 62 and lead wires 28 to electrodes 88 of such lamp. After the final gas fill the lamp is indexed to the tipping-01f station (FIG. 5) where tipping-on burners 90 heat the tipping-off portion on the exhaust tubulation 66. During this tipping-off operation the upper lamp-supporting members 62, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3, thermally insulate the upper end-seal portion 24 from the tipping-01f burners 90.

It will be understood from a consideration of FIGS. 1 and 3 that a cam track 92 (mounted by means of brackets 94 on the frame 15) is engaged by a roller 96 on a stud shaft projecting from the upper slide 38 of the lamp holder 13. During the performance of the above-described exhaust operations and during the indexing of the lamp from work station to work station, this cam track 92 maintains the slidably mounted lamp holder 13 and the lamp 26 carried thereby at the same elevation.

When an exhaust head 12, the lamp holder 13 and the lamp 26 are indexed into the tipping-oft station, the roller 96 rides ofi the cam track 92, as shown in FIG. 7, and onto a yoke 98 which (when in its normally up position) functions as a continuation of the cam track 92. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the top of the lamp holder 13, when the latter is in the up position, is disposed a distance d from the exhaust head 12. This yoke 98 is mounted on an operating plunger 100 which is reciprocable in the frame of the exhaust machine. In addition, the yoke 98 is biased by a spring 102 to the normally up position, shown in FIG. 7, as determined by a collar 104 on the plunger 100.

After the tipping-off burners 90 have heated the tipping-off portion on the exhaust tubulation 66 to a plastic condition, the yoke 98 and the roller 96 engaged thereby are moved downwardly by operation of a cam (not shown) on the main cam shaft (not shown) of the exhaustmachine, which cam is connected by conventional linkage to the plunger 100. The yoke 98 and roller 96 are moved from the normally up position, shown in FIG. 7, downwardly into registry with an adjacent lower section of the cam track 92. This downward movement of the roller 96 causes the slidable lamp holder 13 and the lamp 26 to move downwardly (FIG. 5) until the top of the lamp holder is disposed a distance 11; from the exhaust head, thereby snetching the plasticized portion of the exhaust tubulation 66 and with a the aid of the burners 90 causing the completion of the tipping-off operation.

Thereafter, the lamp is indexed to an unloading station (not shown) where the operator depresses the handle 58 on the lamp holder 13 and removes the exhausted lamp 26 from such lamp holder 13. As shown in FIG. 7, during the indexing of the lamp 26 between the unloading station and the loading station, an inclined portion of the cam track 92 moves the roller 96 and hence the now empty lamp holder 13 upwardly a distance d -d to a position similar to that shown in FIG. 4. V

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that h j s t t P esent in en ion have been achi ved by the provision of an improved lamp holder for tubularlamp exhaust machines, which lamp holder resiliently supports the lamp, provides a positive electrical contact with the lead wires of the lamp and thermally shields the end-seal portions of such lamp during the tippingofl operation. Such lamp holder is substantially no wider than the diameter of the tubular lamp supported thereby thus permitting closer spacing of the exhaust heads on the periphery of the turret of the exhaust machine and the use of shorter, more efficient sweeps on such exhaust machine with resultant improved pumping speed in the pumping system. In addition, the improved lamp holder eliminates the heat bafile on the tipping-off means and dispenses with the necessity of precise orientation of the lead wires of the lamp exactly opposite to each other and in a generally horizontal plane.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that as an alternative embodiment, the handle 58 may be dispensed with and the lower chuck 50 reciprocated automatically by mounting a roller (similar to the roller 96) on the guide block 59 and in engagement with a cam track similar to the cam track 92.

While in accordance with the patent statutes one best known embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it is to be particularly understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby.

We claim:

1. In combination with an exhaust head of an automatic machine for exhausting, treating, filling and sealing a tubular discharge lamp having reentrant endseal portions and lead wires projecting beyond such end-seal portions, an improved lamp holder comprising, a pair of lamp-lead-contacting means disposed on said machine, a pair of spaced electrically conducting members which are electrically insulated from one another forming a part of each of said lamp-lead-contacting means and adapted to engage and fit into the end-seal portions of said lamp to retain said lamp in predetermined position on said machine, each of said spaced members operable to contact and secure one of said lead wires against the end-seal portions of said lamp as retained on said machine to facilitate positive electrical connection between said spaced members and each of said lead wires, and each of said spaced members adapted to have an electric potential applied thereacross.

2. The combination as specified in claim 1, wherein said spaced members have the shape of spherical segments to fit into the end-seal portions of said lamp as retained on said machine.

3. The combination as specified in claim 1, wherein said spaced members are electrically insulated from said machine.

4. The combination as specified in claim 1, wherein one of said lamp-lead-contacting means is movable with respect to the other of said lamp-lead-contacting means.

5. The combination as specifiedin claim 1, wherein one of said lamp-lead-contacting means is fixed, and the other of said lamp-lead-contacting means is movable with respect to said fixed lamp-lead-contacting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

